City transit & fare estimator
Pick a city and two stations for a rough subway fare — plus how each city’s trains and IC cards actually work.
Choose two different stations.
Estimate for a single-operator subway ride. Transfers to JR or private lines cost extra — check a routing app (Google Maps, Jorudan, Navitime) for the exact fare.
Getting an IC card (Suica etc.)
Physical card
Buy at a station ticket machine or office: ¥500 refundable deposit + charge (from ¥1,000). Tap in and out. Refund the card and deposit at an operator office before you leave Japan.
Availability of unregistered cards has been on-and-off due to a chip shortage; personalized and mobile versions are unaffected.
Mobile Suica — iPhone
Any iPhone 8 or later: Wallet app → + → Transit Card → Suica → set an amount. No Japanese phone or bank needed; top up with Apple Pay or cash at a machine.
Mobile Suica — Android
Needs a FeliCa (Osaifu-Keitai) chip — most Android phones bought outside Japan do NOT have it, so Mobile Suica will not work. Use a physical card or a Japan-market phone.
Register it
Registering (name, phone, email) lets you freeze the balance if lost and add a commuter pass or auto-charge (auto-charge needs a Japanese credit card).
How paying works
Commuter pass (teiki)
If you take the same route to work or school, a commuter pass (定期券, teiki) for 1/3/6 months is far cheaper than paying per ride — buy one once your address and route are fixed.
Next steps
IC fares reflect recent published subway tiers and station distance is estimated from approximate positions — treat the result as a ballpark, not an exact fare.
Single subway fare by city (IC)
A single subway ride costs from about ¥180 for the shortest hop to ¥550 for the longest, depending on city and distance.
| City | Operator | IC fare (short–long) |
|---|---|---|
| Tokyo | Tokyo Metro + Toei Subway | ¥180 – ¥320 |
| Yokohama | Yokohama Municipal Subway + Minatomirai Line | ¥210 – ¥550 |
| Osaka | Osaka Metro | ¥190 – ¥390 |
| Nagoya | Nagoya Municipal Subway | ¥210 – ¥340 |
| Kyoto | Kyoto Municipal Subway (bus dominates elsewhere) | ¥220 – ¥360 |
| Kobe | Kobe Municipal Subway (+ private lines) | ¥210 – ¥430 |
| Fukuoka | Fukuoka City Subway | ¥210 – ¥340 |
| Sapporo | Sapporo Municipal Subway | ¥210 – ¥370 |
How this works: fares are estimated from the distance band of your trip on each city’s main urban rail/subway, using published adult IC fares. Actual fares vary by operator and transfers; treat the figure as a planning estimate.
Train and subway fares in Japan — common questions
How much is a train ride in a Japanese city?
A single urban subway or train ride is typically a few hundred yen, rising with distance. Pick your city and a distance band in the estimator above to see the fare range.
Is an IC card cheaper than a paper ticket?
Usually by a small margin, and it saves buying a ticket each time. Suica, PASMO, ICOCA and other IC cards all work the same way; our Suica/IC guide covers setup.
Is a commuter pass worth it?
If you make the same trip most days, a monthly commuter pass (teiki) usually beats paying per ride — often paying for itself within the month. The estimator shows the per-ride cost to compare against a pass.